"There will be no excuses" – Aston Martin on its way to becoming F1 championship contender, says team director

Aston Martin technical director Eric Blandin believes their team has the resources to evolve into a championship contender. He believes they have the technical talent and resources to produce a winning car in 2023 or 2024.

Speaking in an interview on the team's website, Blandin said:

“It’s coming together: the car, the people, the resources. You can feel the energy. Even if we don’t get it right this year or next year, or don’t make the step forward we’re aiming for, we will eventually. There’s a strong feeling, a belief, that we’re on the right path. It’s going to take a few years to become championship contenders, but soon we will have everything we need to be successful."

With their expansion at Silverstone and their recruiting of talent from several top teams over the course of the 2022 season, they have managed to be fairly convincing about their ambitions to win. According to Blandin, their ideal goal is to be a championship contender and he believes they do have the pool of talent and resources to achieve that goal. As for the development of their car, the Aston Martin technical director felt there were no obstacles that they could not overcome.

Explaining the development of their car, Blandin said:

“If we get it wrong and the car doesn’t perform the way we want, we have to be honest about it and work together to find the solutions. First, we need to understand why the car isn’t performing – where the issues are – and, based on what we have learned, then we need to find and implement the solutions to the problems. There’s nothing we can’t overcome. As a team, we can overcome any challenge we face.”

Aston Martin finished in seventh place in the standings in 2021 and 2022, after being rebadged to the trademark Aston green color. Previously named Racing Point, they finished as high as fourth in the championship in 2020.

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Aston Martin team principal believes some rivals are not ambitious

Aston Martin team principal Mike Krack feels that their ambitions to win and become front runners is a serious one, unlike their rivals who have not been able to achieve it despite their investments. The Luxembourg-born Motorsport engineer feels that the Silverstone team is focused on achieving top results by investing in more infrastructure, a new wind tunnel facility and recruiting more talent.

Speaking in an interview with Spanish publication AS, Krack said:

“The green team stands out because we are expanding, we are very serious about our ambitions. It’s not just words, we are building a new headquarters, a new wind tunnel, we have hired a lot of very good people. It’s a matter of making everything work together, but the potential of our project is absolutely real. There are teams that say yes, that in three years they will be winning, that in a hundred races they will be winning, but what are they doing to win?”

The Silverstone team’s rivals Alpine have had a similar goal over 100 races to become front runners but have not been able to iron out reliability issues with their engines to improve their performances. Aston Martin has poached several Mercedes and Red Bull personnel to be able to execute their plans to become front runners effectively. Their 2023 car will be a litmus test as to whether they will be able to produce an innovative and original challenger or replicate another one of their rivals' designs, a trend they have followed in the past.